04/22/2021
We are lifted up in the hands of God, and in this way we are saved, redeemed, provided for, and blessed in each new day... yet it is so easy to feel lost, or abandoned to the hardships of the world, but if we look around ourselves it becomes clear that despite our fears, we have been in the hand of God all the while.
“Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah”
Psalm 68:19 ESV
We wake up each day and sometimes wonder where our next meal will come from, how we will feed our family, or if we will survive the day at all, and yet we take that first breath, and the next... each being given to us by the goodness of God. Then, as He is blessing us in this way do we remember to bless Him in return by our morning prayers for what we have received, and do we find encouragement in the strength of our faith, in His promised provision as He meets us there? If the faith of Jesus could feed the 5000, then how can we doubt that God will feed us... the one.
“But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?””
Matthew 14:30-31 ESV
There are three things we need to learn from the story of Jesus feeding the 5000. The first is that Jesus gave thanks, not for what He had, but for what He knew by faith He would receive. This is the first lesson; a lesson that each of us should learn from Him, and apply in our own lives. Like Jesus, we should thank God, and do so in the certainty of His Will, and promise. Then, and only then, will we receive the bountiful blessing that is in store for us. In this way we, the one, will be fed, healed, and provided for.
“Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them”
John 6:11 ESV
The second lesson is one that can be easily overlooked as we read this scripture...
“Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated.
John 6:11 ESV
We watch on the evening news as a truck filled with rice pulls into a refugee camp and is immediately mobbed by a hungry crowd. They are afraid that there will not be enough for all of them, or believe they can take advantage of the others if they have more. So in their lack of faith they storm the truck and their greed, and faithlessness, gives some of them more than they need while many others go hungry... what once could have sustained them all only feeds a few.
By reading carefully we notice that in this verse regarding the miracle of the 5000, Jesus only fed those who remained seated. It took great faith for a hungry group to keep their seats when it appeared that there wasn’t enough bread and fish to feed them all. This is possibly the most powerful lesson we can learn from this miraculous story, and yet, more often than not, it is overlooked. Would the miracle have occurred if the crowd had charged the baskets? I don’t think so! Their faith, and the faith of Jesus, coupled with obedience, fed them all.
Our faith and love for our neighbors should be strong enough to overcome our greed, and self-interest. Our trust in God’s promise should allow us to sit calmly, waiting to receive what we have been promised would come to us.
The third lesson is that once we give thanks in faith, remain calm and certain in our faith, and we will receive what was promised, we will find that God has given us more than we have asked for. More often than not, our blessings will be in surplus...
“And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.”
John 6:12-13 ESV
So let’s ask ourselves again the two questions that we began with... “O Christian where is your faith, O man of God how did you become blind to the blessings of God our Father?”, and when we have strengthened our faith in these answers, let’s rise to face the hardship, let’s thank God for the little we have, and for what is to come. Then let’s trust enough Him to act upon our faith, by actively waiting on His provision, and blessing Him in our prayers. Finally, after God begins to provide for us, we should make ourselves ready to receive what He gives us... complete with baskets for the surplus.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the lessons that your Son Jesus has taught us, and none more powerful than how we should prepare ourselves in faith to ask for, and receive, your many blessings. Hear our prayers Lord as we ask for your mercy, and offer you our meager blessings... even from within your hands where we are held. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who shows us through the 5000 how you will feed us, the one. Merciful are you who makes every day new, and begins to bless us fresh each morning. Praised be your name for the strength you give us in faith, and the comfort we find in our trusting you to defend, and provide for us. Your grace abounds Father, and flows over us like a warm, and sweet scented oil. Then the blood of your Son Jesus washes the sin from us, and leaves us pure as He is pure... worthy, and prepared to abide in you forevermore. Great are you, and greatly to be praised!
Rich Forbes